Helena case included in Montana Medicaid fraud roundup

A Helena personal care attendant was convicted in a Montana Medicaid fraud sweep that state officials said uncovered more than $1 million in fraudulent claims across three related cases. For Lewis and Clark County, the case puts a local name and a local provider on a list that also reached Billings and Great Falls, while underscoring how false billing can drain public dollars meant for legitimate care.

The Helena case involved Laural Suydam, 46, who was convicted of theft for receiving $3,790.87 in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements while working as a personal care attendant for A Plus Healthcare. DOJ said Suydam provided in-house medical assistance to a Montana Medicaid recipient. Even at that smaller dollar amount, the case shows how abuse can start in the day-to-day records that govern home care and personal assistance, where weak supervision can let improper claims slip through.

The larger financial losses came in two counseling cases. Alison Watt, 55, of Billings, was charged with Medicaid fraud and false claim to a public agency after allegedly billing $249,587.92 for counseling services she did not personally provide and receiving $134,042.28 in fraudulent reimbursements. Victoria Davenport, 60, of Great Falls, was charged with two counts of Medicaid fraud, two counts of false claim to a public agency and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence after allegedly billing Medicaid for counseling services provided by unlicensed staff while claiming she was the provider. DOJ said Davenport submitted claims totaling $2,300,729.65 and received $1,243,131.17 in fraudulent reimbursements.

The state also said federal records helped expose the Davenport billing pattern. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed she was out of the country for 217 claims submitted under her name, and DOJ said she later submitted altered documentation after being told she was under investigation. That kind of cross-check is one of the few safeguards strong enough to catch fraud that paperwork alone can hide.

Assistant Attorney General Alexandra van Belle is prosecuting the cases. The Montana Department of Justice said its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes providers that defraud the program, while also handling abuse, neglect and exploitation cases in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other Medicaid-funded settings. Attorney General Austin Knudsen tied the cases to the Trump administration’s National Health Care Fraud Takedown and White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, and the department said the unit’s fiscal 2026 budget is funded 75 percent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and 25 percent by the state.